Coalfield offers peace, nature and a close-knit community
Named for its mining heritage, Coalfield is a community located amid the rural hills and forests of East Tennessee. This place of about 2,200 people draws those seeking even smaller crowds than in other areas outside of Knoxville. Coalfield also has a school that's as much a local anchor as it is a convenience for its younger residents. Here, traditions include Friday night football and springtime baseball. “We like it just because of the small town atmosphere. The community really gathers around and supports the school,” says Tina Sexton, owner of Creek Mountain Realty and a Coalfield resident. “That’s why we want to be here. Because we want the peace and quiet. We don’t want the noise, we don’t want the traffic, and we want to know the teachers and other children in the community.”
Community provides a “country farm feel”
Homes in Coalfield line along quiet, narrow roads with no sidewalks. The community’s most rural areas have spacious lots, where tall and mature trees surround homes. Some lots in the community also have drainage ditches, short stone retention walls and gravel driveways. “There’s not really any subdivisions out here,” Sexton says. “It’s just a country farm feel.” Styles in the community include ranch-style, manufactured, Craftsman and Colonial Revival homes. Many homes under 1,400 square feet run between $170,000 and $290,000, while larger builds go from $320,000 to $480,000.
Many students may do all their years at Coalfield School
The community allows many students to complete all their public school years in one building. Coalfield School, which gets a B-minus from Niche, serves students from prekindergarten to 12th grade. The school’s athletic program includes a baseball team that reached the state championship in 2025. The girls basketball squad also made it to its first-ever state semifinal during the same year. Other schools serving the area include Oakdale School, which covers prekindergarten to 12th grade and receives a B-minus. There’s also Petros-Joyner School, which serves prekindergarten to eighth graders and gets a C-minus.
Local food truck park has rotating vendors and games
While the community doesn’t have brick-and-mortar restaurants, it does have Coalfield Crossroads Food Truck Park. Located in an open field off Knoxville Highway, the park has a rotating lineup of food vendors ranging from simple lemonade stands to moving pizza parlors and taco trucks. Park mainstays include Coco Loco Food Truck. The field also has space for games like cornhole and giant beer pong. Otherwise, Coalfield residents often travel to nearby communities to dine out. The Garage Bar & Grill in neighboring Oliver Springs offers beer, pizzas and chicken wings. The restaurant also entertains patrons with small live music acts. Oliver Springs’s Food City is one of the nearest grocery stores.
Outdoor adventures range from hiking to off-roading
The community has nearby spots for nature hikes, summertime swims and four-wheeling. Some dip at Middle Fork Falls' rugged streams during the summer. The area also gets visitors when the falls freeze on frigid winter days. Nearby Frozen Head State Park offers similar natural attractions across more than 24,000 acres of wilderness. In Petros less than 10 miles north, the Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary welcomes tourists looking to learn about its infamous inmates and past days as a maximum-security prison. Brushy Mountain also has a distillery crafting spirits like its End of the Line Tennessee moonshine. Five miles east of Coalfield, the 73,000-acre Windrock Park draws mountain bikers and off-roaders. “People come from as far as Canada to ride,” Sexton says about Windrock.
Nearby Oliver Springs hosts October Sky Festival
Coalfield residents looking for entertainment may make a short trip to nearby Oliver Springs. Each October, Oliver Springs hosts the October Sky Festival at Arrowhead Park. The fall-themed event brings in numerous vendors selling items like homemade plum and pumpkin butters, seasonal wreaths and birdhouses partly made using Tennessee license plates.
Knoxville Highway connects Coalfield to key destinations
Tennessee State Route 62, or Knoxville Highway, provides a direct path to nearby communities like Oliver Springs and Oak Ridge. Coalfield is less than 5 miles west of Oliver Springs and about 10 miles west of Oak Ridge. In addition to shopping and dining, Oak Ridge provides a nearby place for health care services with the Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge. Located about 35 miles southeast, McGhee Tyson Airport is the nearest hub for commercial flights.
